The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-05
A NEW THING ON WHEELS.
A Machine Which Is Cross Between
Bicycle and Street Car.
From the Washington Post.

eS~@N%
From the Washington Post.
The velocipede has become hack. Mat
thew A Cherry, an ingenious and enterpris-
ing, and withal muscular young negro, who
lives in a suburban residence on Seventh
street above Boundary, has given new
form to the velocipede and found a new
field of employment for it, He was some
thing of carpenter and a little of a black
smith, and for long time the idea had been
revolving in his brain. He longed to be a
common carrier and to draw his motive
power from his own muscles. His idea was
to produce such a modification of the veloci-
pede as would be suitable for regular pas
senger business over the smooth asphalt
pavements of Washington. The bicycle did
not suit. He could not find room for pas
sengers on a bicycle, and he wanted ma
chine with seating capacity for four ''fares ="
The tricyle did not suit either. 1t was good
enough for young man and his best girl
or for two young girls, or for an able
bodied attendant, or for a store messenger
who had only to carry baskets of groceries
to customers houses, but it did not answer
the purpose of a common carrier whose OBJ
ject in life was vehicle which he would
propel himself and which would seat four
citizens besides himself.
THE MACHINE EVOLVED.
Four wheels were found necessary, and
having made this discovery Cherry set to
work upon his plans Of course he could
only steal an hour now and then from his reg
ular occupation to devote to the working
out of his new invention, and the length of
time which elapsed between the first expert
ment and the launching of the new vehicle
| upon the sea of epasSenger traffic was con-
siderable. And when you look at the ma
chine you do not wonder. 1t is about half
as long as an ordinary street railroad car,
but in frame it is lighter than any sullky
The best way to describe the vehicle within
limited space would probably be to say
that it resembles car with nothing left of it
but four wheels and the platform at each
end. The passengers sit on the platforms
and the locomotive, located somewhere about
where the middle of the car used to be, sits
up aloft on a saddle, piunging away at two
levers which turn the hind wheels. The steer
ing gear, worked by hand, is attached to the
wheels in front
ON THE STREETS AT NIGHT.
This new hack hardly ever ventures
abroad until the darkness OF night has come
to lend its mysterious interest to all I'M
familiar forms In its headlong career along
streets dimly lighted by a few distant gas
lamps, and late at night when the common
throng has deserted the streets and avenues,
the lone wanderer has often been frightened
almost out of his wits by the sudden appear
ance and the sudden and strange disappear
ance Of this remarkable and wonderful thing,
which is seen only in the night. Talk about
speed! When that thing gets fairly under
way it seems to get entirely beyond its own
authors control. Street cars, hansoms, bug
gies-they don't belong to the same class
They are all too slow to be thought of in
connection with this machine, especially
going down hill. Even fast bicyclists
mounted ON the finest and most improved
roadsters, fall behind when CheITys ma
chine comes along. And the rafting and
the shaking A ride on this now
hack is as lively as it is rapid. No railroad
accident ever gave man such shaking up
as he gets on this machine.
WHAT THE INVENTOR SAYS.
"On level" said Cherry to a reporter,
who was riding about town on ''the latest, +"
81 never have any difficulty in carrying
four passengers just as fast as they care to
60, and can take three up the hill at the
Treasury building on Fifteenth street quite
easily.n But Cherry is thinking about max
ing his passengers walk up hill. His bust
ness is prospering so that he can dictate terms
now Yet he rarely charges more than 25c
head for the longest drive. Cherry is
afraid that some other fellow will build an
other machine on the same principle and
spoil the business, but in the meantime he
has the good grace to enjoy his prosperous
monopoly with the moderation of a man
who is too really great to become intoxicat-
ed with his own success. Cherry SAID last
night that already lie had received epplica-
tons from not less than dozen combina-
tions of young gentlemen want
ing to hire the new machine to
carry them up and down Pennsylvania
avenue for "a whole afternoon when the pri-
vate carriages of fashion are out But he
does not approve of the idea. He thinks it
would interfere with his regular business,
and he finds that he has enough to do in
propelling four passengers all over
town during six Or seven hours after sun
down.